Safety buckle for a window blind assembly

ABSTRACT

A safety buckle for a window blind assembly includes a connecting part, a bar section, and a pair of surrounding arms. The connecting part is adapted for mounting on one side of the window blind assembly, and has two ends spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction. The bar section extends along the longitudinal direction and is connected to the two ends of the connecting part. Each of the surrounding arms extends along an arc from a corresponding one of the ends of the connecting part toward another one of the ends of the connecting part. The surrounding arms cooperate with the bar section to define a buckle hole that is adapted for extension of a pull cord unit of the window blind assembly therethrough. The surrounding arms define an escape path therebetween that is in spatial communication with the buckle hole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a safety buckle for a window blind assembly, more particularly to a safety buckle that is mounted on a window blind assembly and that is configured to allow a pull cord unit of the window blind assembly extending therethrough to escape therefrom.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional window blind assembly is exemplified as a roman blind 1 that includes a top rail 11 adapted to be disposed at a top edge of a window, a drawable light-blocking curtain 12 hung from the top rail 11, a plurality of buckles 13 disposed at a rear side of the light-blocking curtain 12, and a pull cord 14 fixedly connected to a lower section 121 of the light-blocking curtain 12 for drawing up and lowering the light-blocking curtain 12. The buckles 13 are vertically spaced apart from each other, and the pull cord 14 vertically extends through each of the buckles 13.

However, such an arrangement is dangerous for children playing with the roman blind 1. It is possible that a child extends his/her neck between the light-blocking curtain 12 and the pull cord 14 when playing with the roman blind 1, and it may be difficult for the child to escape when the child's neck is restricted therebetween.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a safety buckle for a window blind assembly that can alleviate accidental strangulation.

According to the present invention, a safety buckle for a window blind assembly comprises a connecting part, a bar section, and a pair of surrounding arms. The window blind assembly includes a top rail, a drawable light-blocking unit hung from the top rail, and a pull cord unit for drawing up and lowering the drawable light-blocking unit.

The connecting part is adapted for mounting on one side of the light-blocking unit of the window blind assembly. The connecting part has two ends spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction. The bar section extends along the longitudinal direction and is connected to the two ends of the connecting part. Each of the surrounding arms extends along an arc from a corresponding one of the ends of the connecting part toward another one of the ends of the connecting part. The surrounding arms cooperate with the bar section to define a buckle hole that is adapted for extension of the pull cord unit of the window blind assembly therethrough.

The surrounding arms define an escape path therebetween that is in spatial communication with the buckle hole, and are configured to allow the pull cord unit to escape from the buckle hole into the escape path when the pull cord unit is subjected to a pulling force in a transverse direction that is transverse to the longitudinal direction and that is away from the bar section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional roman blind;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a window blind assembly provided with safety buckles of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the safety buckle of the preferred embodiment mounted on a curtain of the window blind assembly;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the safety buckle of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the safety buckle of the preferred embodiment mounted on the curtain of the window blind assembly;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 for illustrating a child extending his/her neck between the curtain and a pull cord unit of the window blind assembly;

FIG. 7 is a top view similar to FIG. 4 for illustrating the pull cord unit escaping from a buckle hole into an escape path of the safety buckle of the preferred embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a top view similar to FIG. 7 for illustrating the pull cord escaping from the escape path.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the preferred embodiment of a safety buckle 4 of the present invention is disposed at a window blind assembly 3. The window blind assembly 3 includes a top rail 31, a drawable light-blocking unit 32 hung from the top rail 31, and a pull cord unit 33 for drawing up and lowering the drawable light-blocking unit 32. The drawable light-blocking unit 32 includes a curtain 321, and a pair of connecting straps 322 disposed at a rear side of the curtain 321 and spaced apart from each other in a right-left direction. The pull cord unit 33 includes two pull cords 331 extending downwardly from the top rail 31 and connected to a lower section 323 of the curtain 321. Since the structure of the window blind assembly 3 is well known to those skilled in the art and since the feature of this invention does not reside therein, further details thereof will be omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

It should be noted that there are two safety buckles 4 attached to the connecting straps 322 of the light-blocking unit 32 of the window blind assembly 3, respectively. In other embodiments, the safety buckles 4 and corresponding connecting straps 322 may be more than two in number. Each of the safety buckles 4 includes a connecting part 412, a bar section 411, and a pair of surrounding arms 42.

The connecting part 412 is attached to the corresponding one of the connecting straps 322, and has two ends 413 spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction (i.e., a right-left direction). In this embodiment, the connecting part 412 is semi-circular in shape. The bar section 411 extends along the longitudinal direction, and is connected to the two ends 413 of the connecting part 412.

Each of the surrounding arms 42 extends along an arc from a corresponding one of the ends 413 of the connecting part 412 toward another one of the ends 413 of the connecting part 412. Each of the surrounding arms 42 includes a connecting section 421 extending from the corresponding one of the ends 413 of the connecting part 412, and a plate section 422 extending from the connecting section 421 toward another one of the ends 413 of the connecting part 412. For each of the surrounding arms 42, the plate section 422 includes a connecting end 423 connected to the connecting section 421 of the corresponding one of the surrounding arms 42, and a free end 424. Specifically, the plate section 422 has a thickness smaller than that of the connecting section 421. The surrounding arms 42 cooperate with the bar section 411 to define a buckle hole 43 for extension of a corresponding one of the pull cords 331 of the pull cord unit 33 of the window blind assembly 3 therethrough.

The plate sections 422 are radially spaced apart from each other, and cooperate to define an escape path 44 therebetween that is in spatial communication with the buckle hole 43. For each of the plate sections 422, the free end 424 is distal from the connection section 421 of a corresponding one of the surrounding arms 42, and is spaced apart from the connecting section 421 of another one of the surrounding arms 42 to define an access 441 of the escape path 44. Such configuration of the surrounding arms 42 allows the pull cord unit 33 to escape from the buckle hole 43 into the escape path 44 when the pull cord 331 is subjected to a pulling force in a transverse direction that is transverse to the longitudinal direction and that is away from the bar section 411.

In this embodiment, the safety buckles 4 are generally circular in shape, and the connecting part 412 and the buckle hole 43 are generally semi-circular in shape. Each of the connecting sections 421 of the surrounding arms 42 subtends an arc length of about 50 degrees, and each of the plate sections 422 subtends an arc length of about 70 degrees. It is noted that the actual configuration of the safety buckles 4 may vary in other embodiments of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is a space 34 between each of the pull cords 331 and the curtain 321. When a child plays with the window blind assembly 3, it is possible that the child extends his/her neck into the space 34 and is restricted therein as shown in FIG. 6. When the child struggles to free himself/herself, the pull cord 331 is subjected to the pulling force, and a moving direction of the pull cord 331 is limited by the bar section 411, i.e., movement of the pull cord 331 toward the curtain 321 is limited by the bar section 411. The pull cord 331 can escape from the buckle hole 43 into the escape path 44, and can further escape from the escape path 44 through the accesses 441 thereof. The space 34 is widened, and makes it easier for the child to free his/her neck, thereby alleviating accidental strangulation. Moreover, the plate sections 422 of the surrounding arms 42 can deform outwardly or even break as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 when the pulling force is sufficiently strong, such that the pull cord 331 can also escape from the safety buckles 4.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

1. A safety buckle for a window blind assembly, the window blind assembly including a top rail, a drawable light-blocking unit hung from the top rail, and a pull cord unit for drawing up and lowering the drawable light-blocking unit, said safety buckle comprising: a connecting part adapted for mounting on one side of the light-blocking unit of the window blind assembly, said connecting part having two ends spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction; a bar section that extends along the longitudinal direction and that is connected to said two ends of said connecting part; and a pair of surrounding arms, each of said surrounding arms extending along an arc from a corresponding one of said ends of said connecting part toward another one of said ends of said connecting part, said surrounding arms cooperating with said bar section to define a buckle hole that is adapted for extension of the pull cord unit of the window blind assembly therethrough; wherein said surrounding arms define an escape path therebetween that is in spatial communication with said buckle hole, and are configured to allow the pull cord unit to escape from said buckle hole into said escape path when the pull cord unit is subjected to a pulling force in a transverse direction that is transverse to the longitudinal direction and that is away from said bar section.
 2. The safety buckle for a window blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said surrounding arms includes a connecting section extending from the corresponding one of said ends of said connecting part, and a plate section extending from said connecting section toward another one of said ends of said connecting part; said plate sections being radially spaced apart from each other and cooperating to define said escape path; for each of said surrounding arms, said plate section having a free end that is distal from said connection section thereof and that is spaced apart from said connecting section of another one of said surrounding arms.
 3. The safety buckle for a window blind assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein, for each of said surrounding arms, said plate section has a thickness smaller than that of said connecting section.
 4. The safety buckle for a window blind assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of said connecting sections of said surrounding arms subtends an arc length of 50 degrees, and each of said plate sections subtends an arc length of 70 degrees.
 5. The safety buckle for a window blind assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting part and said buckle hole are semi-circular in shape. 